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Family Fit for a With a new layout and smarter storage, this kitchen works for everyone By Scott tulay I n 2006, my wife and I purchased a 1500-sq.-ft. cottage-style house in Amherst, Mass. Although the house was from the 1920s, its kitchen had been remodeled in the 1970s and was downright dysfunctional. We determined that the kitchen— along with every other room in the house—would have to be completely overhauled. The original kitchen measured 11 ft. by 17 ft., with two short counters on opposing walls. With foot traffic running diagonally through the space, the kitchen was not conducive either to gathering or to Before Laundry Entry Kitchen Entry cooking. There was no dedicated storage space, and the limited countertop area was taken up by a microwave, utensils, a toaster, a mixer, and a bread box. The cabinetry was old and broken down, there was no dishwasher, and—even though the daylight hardly penetrated it—it had only a single overhead light. We had several goals for our kitchen remodel: to improve the traffic pattern, to increase daylight, and to make the space feel more welcoming. Given our budget, we chose not to enlarge the kitchen. We Continued on p. 35 After Laundry Kitchen Dining Dining 0 24 8 ft. SAME FOOTPRINT, BETTER FUNCTION With poor lighting, chaotic storage, and nowhere for lingering, the Tulays’ kitchen was neither a comfortable gathering spot nor a satisfactory place in which to cook. Complicating the www.finehomebuilding.com situation further was that traffic to the backyard cut diagonally through the space. This was solved by moving the back door. Adding windows and opening up the wall between the kitchen and the laundry room brought in more light. Clever custom storage was added to keep cooking supplies close at hand. With peninsula seating, there’s now also a spot to do homework. fAll/WInTer 2015 31